With his knack for bringing a smile to the face of anyone he met, Jesus Pedro Fernandez always tended to be the life of the party.

Zackary Fernandez said that among his best memories are the times his father took him in one of his dune buggies for barbecues in the sand dunes outside Las Vegas, where they lived together for a time.

“He was an outgoing guy,” Fernandez said. “He really enjoyed people and making people laugh.”

Jesus Pedro Fernandez, 48, of Concow (Courtesy photo)

Jesus Pedro Fernandez, 48, moved to Concow a few years ago to start a new life, his son said, but they continued to talk on the phone every week. Zackary Fernandez said his father taught him to always look forward and not dwell in the past.

Jesus Fernandez had managed two bakeries in Las Vegas owned by his parents since the age of 17, and after taking them over he eventually closed the struggling businesses and moved to Butte County, where he worked at a farming operation run by some friends.

On a recent visit to Concow, his dad was in great spirits and seemed to have rebounded from the misfortune of having to shutter the bakeries, Fernandez said.

“He was doing phenomenal,” Fernandez said. “He rebuilt the whole property and he was taking good care of it.”

Just days before he died in the Camp Fire, Jesus Fernandez called his son to say he would be out to Vegas soon to visit.

Zackary Fernandez misses his father, but takes to heart his advice to always move forward.

“I’m doing all right,” he said. “My dad taught me that life always has to go on and I have to keep my mind straight.”